While our rainfall is low this year, there have been enough showers to keep the moss green and the orchids emerging. While I am out photographing Helmet Orchids, Nodding Greenhoods, Blunt Greenhoods and other tiny plants, I am repeatedly struck by the beauty of some of the moss we have growing here. It’s deep and … Continue reading Moss and Orchids: Five Photographs
Category: Native Flowers
Wild flowers growing on our property which are native and endemic to the area.
A Second Pair of Eyes (or three, or four)
When I am showing a visitor around our property, I find the second pair of eyes (or three, or four) very helpful. We all notice different things. Last week, my visitors were very knowledgeable and I learned a lot from them. Over the next few weeks I will be adding a few plants to my A-Z Species List. … Continue reading A Second Pair of Eyes (or three, or four)
Trim Greenhood (Pterostylis concinna)?
Yesterday’s discovery of a potential hybrid species of Greenhood made me look into my ‘unidentified’ photographs to see what else was there – and I think I may have found a Trim Greenhood. The photograph was taken a couple of years ago. Among the identifying features of the Trim Greenhood are: a dark brown ‘v’ … Continue reading Trim Greenhood (Pterostylis concinna)?
Sharp Greenhood (Pterostylis X ingens)
This week, I’ve had the pleasure of showing a few visitors the Greenhoods and Helmet orchids in flower, as well as some of the other interesting plants on our property. After a few discussions about timing, seasons and conditions, I decided to go back through last year’s photographs for comparison. In mid-August last year I … Continue reading Sharp Greenhood (Pterostylis X ingens)
Here Come the Helmet Orchids
We are finally seeing some Helmet Orchid buds. Most of them are still very tiny, but there are a few that are taking on some colour, and beginning to swell. If I look back at last year’s photographs I see that the fully open flowers appeared at the end of July, so hopefully in … Continue reading Here Come the Helmet Orchids
Inspired by the Ballarat Field Naturalists
A surprise invitation to accompany the Ballarat Field Naturalists on an orchid seeking field trip arrived in my inbox on Saturday. With a little rearranging, I was able to take up the offer, so on a beautifully sunny winter Sunday we set off to some local bushland. Thanks to John for inviting me and to … Continue reading Inspired by the Ballarat Field Naturalists
Wild Flower Hunting for Beginners: Ten Tips
Although it still only May, the wild flowers around the property are starting to grow. Small-Mosquito Orchids are flowering again; I see Climbing Sundews and Twining Fringe-lily stems winding around Bracken; the Guinea Flower and native Pea bushes are greening up and many other signs of the wildflowers to come are emerging after the recent … Continue reading Wild Flower Hunting for Beginners: Ten Tips
Tiny Sundew (Drosera pygmaea)
How exciting it is to find another species of Sundew – I love Sundews almost as much I love the Orchids. The striking foliage and almost alien shapes and colours really grab my attention. Add to that the contrasting purity of white (or pink in some species) flowers and I can’t stop looking at them. … Continue reading Tiny Sundew (Drosera pygmaea)
Parsons Bands Orchid – possibly a green form?
We have quite a few Parsons Bands Orchids in flower at the moment, but this one stands out through the lack of pink or red. Potentially it is a green form, as referenced on the Retired Aussies website. I have not found reference to this colour anywhere else. So, if you have knowledge of this … Continue reading Parsons Bands Orchid – possibly a green form?
Autumn Wild Flower Walks (8 photos)
It is finally beginning to feel like Autumn, even though technically, it has been for a few weeks. Over the past few days I have been noticing many familiar wild flowers beginning to grow. This post shows a few of the plants I have come across this week. Some are just setting leaves, and will flower later … Continue reading Autumn Wild Flower Walks (8 photos)
Tall Spike-Rush / Tall Spike-sedge (Eleocharis sphacelata)
I’ve often posted photographs of birds or the plants around the dam, featuring the thick clump of Tall Spike-rush in the background, so I thought it was high time to put this plant in the foreground. It seems that Tall Spike-rush is a former name and the current name is Tall Spike-sedge. I’ve included both names … Continue reading Tall Spike-Rush / Tall Spike-sedge (Eleocharis sphacelata)
Austral Brooklime (Gratiola peruviana)
Investigating the species of plants which are naturally re-vegetating the dam bank, I was pleased to discover that the most plentiful plant is a native species: Austral Brooklime. The seeds of this plant are apparently long-lived and can remain dormant in soil until the right conditions occur. The flowers are tiny – approximately 3mm to … Continue reading Austral Brooklime (Gratiola peruviana)
Our 25th Orchid Species: Rosy Hyacinth-orchid (Dipodium roseum)
To celebrate the New Year, I’m posting the 25th Australian Terrestrial Orchid species found growing wild on our land – the Rosy Hyacinth Orchid. Unlike many of the other Orchids we have here, the Hyacinth-Orchid is large and showy. They can grow up to 1m tall. As the name suggests, they have a brown leafless stem … Continue reading Our 25th Orchid Species: Rosy Hyacinth-orchid (Dipodium roseum)
Jersey Cudweed (Pseudognaphalium luteoalbum)
Using the site VicVeg, with a narrowing to the Corrangamite region, and a search on medium herbs, I eventually worked out the weed in our back yard is Jersey Cudweed – a native plant. This weed looked similar to plants I had seen growing around the dam, and when I photographed it using the … Continue reading Jersey Cudweed (Pseudognaphalium luteoalbum)
Spiny-headed Mat-rush (Lomandra longifolia)
I’ve been walking past a patch of plants with clumps of long, flat, green leaves for the entire time we’ve lived on our property, and only in the last couple of weeks did I realise these Spiny-headed Mat-Rush plants had beautiful white flower spikes hidden away. From the research I have done, it seems they … Continue reading Spiny-headed Mat-rush (Lomandra longifolia)
Yellow Rush-lily (Tricoryne elatior)
This year the Spring has been so dry that flowers seem to be behaving in unseasonal ways, including the Yellow Rush-lily which last Summer flowered in February. Having noted that, I have only found one small group of plants, so perhaps they are growing in a micro-climate that suits them and the others will flower … Continue reading Yellow Rush-lily (Tricoryne elatior)
Drooping Mistletoe (Amyema pendula)
For many years I have wanted to have a red flowering eucalypt, so when I spotted what appeared to be red flowers on the ground, I got excited – only to work out that I have a red flowering Mistletoe. The Mistletoe is a parasitic plant which attaches to eucalypts and sometimes acacia trees. The … Continue reading Drooping Mistletoe (Amyema pendula)
Heath Teatree (Leptospermum myrsinoides)
I took these Teatree photographs in September of 2013 and they have been sitting in my ‘To Identify’ folder since then. The appearance of Teatree flowers again this Spring has prompted me to sit down and try to work out which species of Teatree we have here. Looking at the different flowering periods and differences … Continue reading Heath Teatree (Leptospermum myrsinoides)
Clover Glycine (Glycine latrobeana)
Looking through the Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) publication “Advisory List of Rare or Threatened Plants in Victoria 2014” I noticed a couple of listings under Glycine, including Clover Glycine. As it is a native pea species and one of my projects this Spring is to identify as many of the pea … Continue reading Clover Glycine (Glycine latrobeana)
Rabbit Ears (Thelymitra antennifera)
I haven’t had time to identify any further Sun Orchids species I photographed over the past week, but as I already know Rabbit Ears, and it is a Sun Orchid, I thought I would share a photograph of one. I took this photograph on 19 October with a Macro lens. Rabbit Ears orchids are named for the … Continue reading Rabbit Ears (Thelymitra antennifera)
Grassland Sun Orchid (Thelymitra basaltica)
For the second time this week, I am researching an endangered species of Sun Orchid which does not appear in my field guide – this time it’s the Grassland Sun Orchid. I can only find a couple of photographs to match it against on Retired Aussies and on EcoLink, both of which have only … Continue reading Grassland Sun Orchid (Thelymitra basaltica)
Short Sun Orchid (Thelymitra exigua)
The centre of this Short Sun Orchid almost seems to have teeth shown in a gasp of horror! It makes me smile because it is both beautiful and humorous in a charming way. I like the way the colour in the lobes fades toward the centre of the flower. I would like to tell you more … Continue reading Short Sun Orchid (Thelymitra exigua)
Slender Sun Orchid (Thelymitra pauciflora)
Learning how to identify the various species of Sun Orchid is not an easy task, so I am beginning with the Slender Sun Orchid because it is one that I have (I believe) successfully classified. I’m happy to be corrected by orchid enthusiasts! While Sun Orchids come in a variety of sizes and colours, the … Continue reading Slender Sun Orchid (Thelymitra pauciflora)
Spring Flowers: Milkmaid
I thought I would share this photograph of Milkmaid flowers, which I took today while photographing the Sun Orchids. Milkmaids already appear on the species list, but the Macro lens allows me to take a much clearer photograph than the previous one. It will take me a day or two to work out the different species of … Continue reading Spring Flowers: Milkmaid
Fifteen Acres 